Spiced plum jam

Makes about 1.4kg or 4 small jars

Takes about 1 hour

1.5kg red plums

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1 orange, halved

800g granulated sugar

Wash the plums under cold running water, then cut each one into 6–8 large wedges (depending on the size of the fruit) and discard the pits. Place in a large jam pan and add the spices, sugar and the halved orange. Stir to combine and allow to sit for 15 minutes—this will help draw moisture out of the plums.

Stir again, then place on a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture is boiling you can reduce the heat to medium and skim any foam that comes to the top. As plums vary greatly it is hard to give an accurate estimate as to how long this will take, but it will need to cook at a constant simmer for at least an hour until the fruit has mostly broken down and the syrup has thickened. You can check it by removing a piece of fruit and some of the syrup to a little bowl to taste (once it has cooled) to see whether the fruit is soft and sweet. If so, remove the jam from the stove, squeeze out the orange skins and discard them, and transfer to sterilized jars (see notes here).

Raspberry & lime jam

Makes about 1.8kg or 5 small jars

Takes about 45 minutes

1.5kg fresh raspberries

2 fresh limes

3 dried limes

900g granulated sugar

Place the raspberries in a large pan. Zest the fresh limes and then juice them on top of the raspberries. Place the dried limes in the pan and finally top with the sugar. Stir well to combine and set on a high heat until the mixture comes to the boil. This starts off as a very loose mixture that will bubble violently but don’t worry; just keep the heat high and skim the foam. Continue cooking on a high heat to keep the vibrant red color and stir occasionally, making sure to reach all the way to the bottom, as the raspberries tend to break up and while there is still a lot of liquid the pulp tends to sink and can occasionally stick to the bottom.

You will see when the texture changes: the mixture will come together to form a thick mass of boiling lava. It gets really hot, so be careful. Once it has thickened (after about 40–45 minutes), check it on a small dish. If the jam stays as one without any thinner liquid spilling to the sides, it is ready to transfer to sterilized jars (see notes here). Fish around to find the dried limes and remove them. It will set once cold, so don’t worry if it still looks a little liquid when pouring into the jars.